Veneratio Tigris
by J.S. Fortner
Summary: Ardo, now a Sergeant, leads a mining expedition on the world of Bengall Secundus, but an ancient horror lays in wait to be revived. Second in the Imperial Tigers series.
1. Visions

Veneratio Tigris

An Imperial Tigers story by Jerrod Fortner

"Hold them, Brothers! They must not reach the civilians! Rip them apart!"

Sergeant Ardo Malisse laid down a hail of fire with his storm bolter, but the rounds seemed to be ineffective against the slow advance of the Necron terror. The soulless machines, foul servants of the creatures known only as the C'tan, came forward, their bodies shining in the moonlight of Bengall Secundus' night. Their emotionless faces showed them for what they were: the incarnation of death itself.

A scream from beside him caused Ardo to turn and he watched as his brother Yusuf was ripped apart before his very eyes. Ardo roared in anger and pain, pumping a full round into the Pariah that stood before him. His efforts were futile, though, as the Pariah merely dodged the rounds and approached him. Ardo could feel his mind begin to unravel as the aura of pure fear radiated from the metal frame of the once human creature. The Pariah raised its right hand and pointed at Ardo and said, in a voice that came from the grave, "Death has come for you, human."

Ardo felt his throat seize up and his twin hearts accelerated to a painful rate. With a start, Ardo realized what the Pariah was doing. He screamed as his twin hearts exploded within his chest.

Ardo snapped back to reality as Esahc came toward him, carrying his now inseparable heavy bolter. He looked at Ardo in puzzlement and asked, "Are you alright, Brother Sergeant?"

Ardo nodded and said, "No. I mean, yes, Brother. I am fine. Squad continue on, two meter spread."

Ardo caught an odd glance from Esahc and he smiled to reassure his friend's fears. Esahc nodded and turned, covering their route with his heavy bolter before continuing forward. Ardo moved forward and quickly took point, leading his squad toward their objective.

After another half hour of sluggish movement through the dense jungles, they reached a large clearing, half a kilometer in diameter. Ardo motioned to Abhay, now recovered from his wounds at the hands of an Eldar Wraithlord, who set up a beacon in the center of the clearing. Ardo keyed his vox-bead and said, "Sergeant Malisse to all Adeptus Mechanicus mining teams. You are free to begin mining Bengall Secundus as soon as you please."


	2. A Path to Ruin

Ardo and Esahc took first watch that night as the lobotomized servitors of the mining teams did their work, completely oblivious to the Marines' presence. Ardo watched as they tore open the soil beneath them and sent it flying away for dozens of meters. It pained him to see such beautiful land be destroyed, but he knew it was for the good of the Imperium.

"Ardo, what was it that disturbed you so earlier today?"

Ardo shook his head and replied, "Absolutely nothing, Esahc. I just missed my footing and nearly fell."

"Ardo, I have known you for twenty years. You are also a horrible liar. What is wrong, Brother?"

Ardo sighed and confessed to Esahc. He told him about the Necrons and their ultimate demise. Esahc looked at him thoughtfully for several minutes before speaking.

"Do you trust in these visions, Brother? If they are correct, then we must warn everyone. If the Necrons were released, it could be a disaster for everyone here."

Ardo shook his head and replied, "But what if I am wrong? What if it is nothing more than a waking dream? No, I will wait until I am sure that the vision is true."

"As you wish Brother. You are most likely right, though. I am sure it is nothing."

oooo

"The Humans have already begun to dig beneath the planets surface. They will awaken the sleeping death soon. Would you like us to kill them now, Farseer?"

Farseer Lanolithos Istumure quickly looked into one of the many possible futures, picking one that had the deaths of all the humans. He watched it for scant milliseconds before he opened his eyes and answered, "No, leave them be. Perhaps they will destroy some of the abominations. Have your Rangers pull back to our outpost. The humans must not know of our presence, and they must not know what they are to unleash. Everything must go perfectly, or we will all die.


	3. An Assignment

"Sergeant, may I speak to you for a moment?"

Ardo looked up at the approaching man and rose to his feet when he noticed the Mechanicus symbol on his robes. The man had a gaunt face and tired looking eyes. His hair was white and, oddly enough for a member of the Mechanicus, did not appear to have any augmentations.

"Yes, Magos. What do you require?"

The Magos looked up at the over two meter tall marine and sighed.

"First of all, please, call me Brocard. I am the Head Magos on this mining expedition. But, as to what I need: We encountered an enormous hole while we were digging. We sent in three servitors, but as of yet, they have not returned. We would like to send your squad in to retrieve them and investigate, but that is entirely up to you."

Ardo smiled as he placed a hand on the Magos' shoulder, then he turned away and keyed his vox bead.

"Brothers, report to the digging site. We've got a mission to handle."


	4. Contact

The entrance to the recess looked like the mouth of Hell to Ardo, and a cold shiver went through his being. He could almost hear something inside moving as his enhanced senses kicked in, taking over for his specially designed helmet's autosenses. He sniffed the air, and a faint, metallic tinge in the air made him recoil. He could smell something unnatural, but he pushed it out of his mind, and then moved forward. He knew the others were following behind him, having drilled with them for over two decades now. He motioned for them to leave their lights off and rely on their superior night vision, second only to the Space Wolves. He raised his bolter as they approached a split in the recess.

"Well brothers, it appears this hole is bigger than we imagined."

"Yes, Brother Sergeant. Should we split up?"

"Affirmative. Yusuf, Esahc and Abhay, go right. I will take Varen and Shyam and go left. Comms silent unless you encounter something, understood."

It was not a question, but an order. Green lights flashed in Ardo's visor, and he turned to the left and took point.

The next few minutes were uneventful. Ardo began to have doubts as to the credibility of his visions, and he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Ardo saw something move. He trained his bolter on the spot where it had been, but he didn't see it again.

"Something wrong, Brother Sergeant?"

"Something moved up ahead, Varen. I'm going to investigate."

Ardo held the bolter up and trained the sights on the area as he approached, wary of anything that might approach him. He saw a solid shape in the darkness, and he drew closer. He saw that is was one of the servitors, and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"It's one of the servitors. Move up, let's get him out of here."

"Brother Sergeant, this is Esahc, we found two of the servitors. Have you found the other?"

"Affirmative, Brother. Let's get them and get out of here."

"Brother Sergeant, you may want to take a look at this."

Ardo turned to Varen and looked at where he was pointing. Ardo had not noticed it before, but great chunks of metal and flesh were missing from the lobotomized servant, but there was no blood around the wounds. He had only heard of one weapon that could cause damage that way.

"Brothers, we need to get out of here, now! Leave the servitors and fall back to the entrance."

Ardo turned to Varen and Shyam as an emerald light filled the darkness. There was a scream, followed by a heavy thud, and Ardo saw Shyam hit the ground, his body cut in half by the Gauss weapons of a squad of Necron Immortals that stood behind them. Ardo raised his bolter and poured a full clip into the metal monsters, but they didn't flinch. They seemed intent to gaze at the two full bodied Marines. A bright green glow radiated from the weapons the Necrons carried at their hips, illuminating them like daemons. Ardo backed away slowly, not taking his eyes off of the Necrons. They shifted suddenly and the glow intensified. Ardo knew they were about to fire, but he knew he wouldn't escape. He continued to back up and as he did so, he tripped over the torso of Shyam. He fell flat just as the wave of Gauss blasts flew over him, striking Varen and stripping his body away atom by atom.

Ardo quickly got back on his feet and ran, occasionally firing with his freshly reloaded bolter at the following Necrons.

"Contact, contact! Get to the surface!"

"Status, Brother Sergeant?!"

"Varen and Shyam are gone. We were ambushed by Necrons. I am initiating a tactical withdrawal to the Mechanicus main base. When you reach the surface, broadcast a message to the rest of the clan. We need as many Marines down here as possible, and have the _Blood Fang_ initiate bombardment. I'll set up the coordinate beacon."

Ardo bent down and removed a small machine from his grenade dispenser and stuck it to one of the cave's walls. He checked to make sure it was secure, and then he activated it. He turned and continued to run as he heard the approaching Necrons' footsteps.

Another sound reached his ears, a high pitched shriek, but made up of hundreds of tiny voices. He pulled a string of krak grenades from his belt and placed them on the ground, then set them for remote detonate. He pulled the detonator out and sprinted the last few meters toward the entrance. He turned around in time to catch a glimpse of several hundred scarabs approaching the string of grenades. Ardo willed himself to run faster and detonated the grenades as he reached the cave entrance. The force of the subsequent explosion threw him several meters through the air, where he smashed into a young tree and split it in two. He rolled onto his back when he regained his senses and saw Esahc standing over him, reaching out a hand to help him up. Ardo took Esahc's hand and got to his feet. He brushed some of the filth off of his armor as he said, "Thank you, Brother. When will the _Blood Fang_ be in position to fire?"

"Five minutes, Brother Sergeant. We need to clear this area before then."

As if on cue, a Rhino transport tank crashed through the low growth of the jungle and stopped less than a meter from the Marines. The side entry hatch on the tank slowly opened, revealing five Space Marines wearing red armor. Ardo could also see a symbol on their left shoulder pauldrons: a snarling, saber toothed tiger.

"Looteras! What are they doing on the planet?"

One of the new Marines stood and saluted Ardo. Ardo took quick notice of his heavily scarred face and stepped inside the tank. The others quickly joined him and took their seats as Ardo closed the hatch and the tank accelerated.

"Brother Sergeant Malisse, I am Sergeant Karim, of clan Lootera. We are here to aid you."

Ardo shook his head.

"That is not possible. We just discovered the Necrons under the surface. How could you have known?"

Ardo was struck with a sudden thought, and he turned to Esahc.

"You contacted the Alpha Tiger."

Esahc nodded, and Ardo felt a momentary surge of killing anger. He wanted to wrap his hands around Esahc's neck, but he restrained himself.

"Sergeant Malisse, we are prepared to aid you in any way possible. Hopefully, we will escape our curse in this battle."

Ardo looked at the Looteras' right shoulder pauldrons and noticed that each had nine marks, each mark representing nine deaths. Ardo quickly realized that these Looteras were finally at the end of their reincarnations. One more death and they would be free from the ancient Curse of the Lootera.

"Brothers, we are approaching the Mechanicus outpost. Will you be disembarking here?"

"Yes, driver. Vishnu guide you, Brother."

"And you," answered the driver as he halted the tank and released the rear hatch locks.

Ardo stormed out and turned towards the cave he had barely escaped from. The chronometer in his helmet ticked down the final seconds between the Imperial Tigers Strike Cruiser getting into position and decimating the cave. He smiled as the counter ticked down to zero, and he looked up to the sky above. Tiny falling stars descended from the heavens and grew larger with every second. There was no sound as the magma bombs impacted into the area he had been in but minutes before. Suddenly, the ground buckled beneath his feet, and he found himself falling into darkness.


	5. Eldar

Ardo opened his eyes and was instantly greeted by a searing pain through his skull. He winced and quickly closed his eyes again, but the pain continued. He opened his eyes again, but it was completely dark. He sat up and removed his helmet, and suddenly he was able to see. He did a cursory inspection of his helmet and noticed it was cracked and buckled in several places. He said a quick prayer for his armor's spirit and stood up, attaching his helmet to a buckle on his armor as he did so. He looked around for his bolter and saw it several feet away, shattered into dozens of pieces. He cursed at the ancient weapons fate, knowing that it was easily several centuries old. He unsheathed his chainsword and held it in his hands. Luckily for him, the weapon hadn't been damaged.

The hairs on the back of Ardo's neck stood on end as he heard light footsteps behind him. He spun around as he thumbed the activation rune on his weapon. The screaming blades bit into a soft cloth and ripped it to shreds revealing the slender, masked figure of an Eldar Ranger.

"Witch," he spat as he picked up the Ranger by the throat.

Gasping for air, the Ranger whispered, "Mon'Keigh, you know not what you do. Let me go, and the others will spare you your life."

With a snort, Ardo crushed the neck of the fragile Eldar and revved up his chainsword. Whistling shots echoed off of the cavern walls and Ardo was pitched backwards as several sniper rounds punched through his armor. The chainsword fell from his grasp and sputtered before it died. Ardo tried to stand, but another well placed round blew out most of his calf muscle. He screamed as he fell to his knees. He reached for his chainsword, but a swift kick knocked it out of reach.

Ardo watched as a Ranger removed its chamelioline cloak, revealing its feminine features and accordingly shaped armor.

"You have killed one of my kin, Mon'Keigh. You will be punished for what you have done."

With a grunt, the Ranger slammed the butt of her rifle across Ardo's face, knocking him out for a second time.


	6. Brothers All

"Brother Sergeant, do you copy? Ardo, respond."

Esahc shook his head in anger as the static coming over the vox stayed constant. He turned to the last remaining members of the squad and said, "Yusuf, Abhay, as of now we are without a sergeant. I think… I think it is in our best interests to give command of the squad to Brother Sergeant Karim."

The other two marines nodded and turned away from him. Yusuf held in his hands a small medallion, an iron representation of the Imperial Aquila, and he said a quick prayer as he held it.

"Emperor, deliver Ardo to us. Save him from whatever peril he faces. In your name, I ask you to give me back my brother."

Yusuf felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned and looked into Sergeant Karim's face, which was filled with great pain.

"Do not worry, Brother Techmarine. Sergeant Malisse is our brother as well as yours. I will not rest until we have found him."

Yusuf nodded and put away his medallion as he stood up. He watched the five Looteras as they quickly checked their weapons. One was armed with a plasma rifle and a power sword, another armed with twin lightning claws. Another of the Looteras hefted a meltagun and power sword. Twin clicks sounded as a Lootera reloaded a twin set of golden bolt pistols, while Sergeant Karim Held a storm bolter in his right hand and flexed his mighty power fist.

"Brothers," Sergeant Karim began, "the chances of Brother Sergeant Malisse still being alive are small. Having said that, I know we must do all we can to search for him. For are we not Space Marines? Are we not the Angels of Death, brothers all in His holy service?"

"Brothers all, through fire and steel!"

Sergeant Karim bared his fangs, which were covered in ruby plating.

"Are we not the instruments of the Emperor's Wrath, sent to do our sacred duty?"

"With the blood of the Primarch in our veins, we seek death for the Emperor's foes!"

"If our brother is lost, do we honor his memory?"

"We remember him as one of the Emperor's Finest!"

Karim raised his power fist to the sky and roared out, "Then let us find our brother and bring him home, for the Primarch protects those who are their Brothers' Keeper!"

With bloodthirsty cries, the Marines bounded into the jungle and the last known location of Ardo.


	7. Banshee

Ardo could feel his body burning, like tiny fires had been lit underneath his skin. He tried to sit up, but he quickly realized that he was strapped down. He looked around, but all he could see was darkness. Suddenly, he heard a voice, lilting and musical.

"You are blind, Human. We have restricted the functioning of your eyesight for our protection. The straps are an extra precaution. My name is Lanolithos Istumure, Farseer of the Craftworld Iyanden."

"Iyanden? I thought your Craftworld was destroyed by Hive Fleet Kraken."

"Almost, but we are not dead yet. Or, some of us, rather."

Ardo tested the strength of his restraints, but he found that they were completely unyielding. With a start, he realized he could feel the cold from the item he was strapped to, which meant his armor had been removed.

"Don't worry, Human, your items are safely put away until we will have need of you. Until then, I will leave you to rest and recuperate from your wounds."

Ardo listened to the fading footsteps and judged their direction. The Farseer had gone left thirteen paces before exiting the room. He locked that information away until he would need it again.

Ardo heard a second set of footsteps enter the room. These were lighter, and the walker seemed to be very graceful. Ardo turned his head toward the sound, which got a slightly startled response.

"They told me you were blind."

Ardo smiled as he turned his head back to look at what he assumed would be a ceiling.

"I am blind, but I can hear your footsteps. It is a gift from my Primarch."

"You come from the bloodline of the one they call Vishnu, correct?"

Ardo nodded and swallowed. His throat was extremely dry. Either there was no moisture in the air, or he had been here a very long time without water.

"Legends tell of your 'Primarch'. They say he was born with red canine teeth, and that he once helped save a Craftworld from destruction. The Iyanden Craftworld, in fact, long before we encountered Kraken."

Ardo smiled. That information had been hidden for many years from the rest of the Imperium, in case the inquisition decided to use it to destroy them.

"It is true, yes, but we do not speak of it." Ardo turned toward her again. You are a warrior of the Howling Banshees, are you not?"

There was a stifled gasp, and then she responded, "Yes. I am Losse Anastari of the Howling Banshee Aspect Shrine."

"How did you get in here? Surely someone would have stopped you."

Ardo heard her laugh, a sound that reminded him of rain falling on jungle leaves.

"There are few who would try and stop a Banshee, Human. You should know that."

Ardo did not know why he was conversing with an Eldar. If he had met her anywhere else he would have torn her apart. He attributed everything to being separated from his squad.

"Well Human, it has been… interesting speaking to you. Perhaps the Space Marines are not as zealous as my kind believed."

Ardo chuckled to himself at the heresy of the Banshee's words. Though she had been good company, she would burn along with the rest of the Emperor's enemies.


End file.
